Sages, Talking & Humor

ALEXANDRA: So, how are we supposed to be able to figure out that theperson who spoke for 4 hours, non-stop, in a VERY amusing andinteresting way, imparting info (and numerology!) as he went, was NOTa sage? I must say that in my limited experience, I have never seen ascholar act that way.

SHEPHERD: There are people of all the roles who are non-stop,sometimes funny, talkers. Warriors have the stereotype of being thestrong, silent types, but have you ever heard JP Van Hulle speak?Artisans have the reputation for being quiet and aloof, but what aboutRobin Williams? (Both do have secondary sage influences.)

I know several scholars who can talk me under the table once they getgoing, and I'm a sage-cast sage with a sage essence twin and severalsage overleaves. One scholar friend said that she's a member of a12-step program, On-and-On Anonymous.

The stereotypes work maybe 60-70% of the time. It's more reliable tolook for underlying energies. Sages tend to be brassy, and our facescan be quite animated and rubbery when expressing; even with sage orartisan casting, scholars are more neutral and earthy. Sages requireattention to do our job; scholars can hold forth but the need forattention isn't strong--they can just as easily listen to informationfrom others. Sages seek insight; scholars seek knowledge. For thesage, insight is truth; for the scholar, knowledge is truth.

Sages specialize in wit, artisans, in whimsy, and both, in playfulness,but people of all roles can have a great sense of humor, even withoutsage or artisan essence twin bleedthrough and/or casting (althoughthose can contribute). Humor is not just a sage attribute, it's anintrinsic part of being alive. Without smiles and laughter, we're indeep doo-doo.